Purifying Dark Hearts

Rose: small break, my bad. I'm gonna jump right on in because I feel bad for leaving everyone hanging. Please, read, review, and enjoy~ Still in Lucas' POV, but maybe we'll see a new character's POV next chapter? Yes, I read my reviews, and it makes me so happy that everyone is so supportive. Onto le Chapter!

The night was a blur afterward. Barry escorted me back to the Pokemon Center, and I heard an earful from Nurse Joy for leaving without telling her. I bade good night to Melody, and grabbed my things, going to a proper room for the night, which surprise, I was sharing with Barry. He looked at me with a worried smile and rolled over, going to bed. I put my things on a table and laid on the bed, passing out immediately. And once again, my dreams were not peaceful.

I opened my eyes in this dream world and I was sitting on that small hill again. Instead of Barry next to me, there was Darkrai. He looked at me, his eyes glowing.

"So you are following me. Why? Explain yourself and the nightmare you gave me at the ruins!" I growled, rising to my feet and reaching for one of my Pokeballs, only to find my belt empty.

'You do not understand. I didn't give you the nightmare. A worser evil did. Lucas, you have an important path, and many beings do not want you to achieve it. So your path will be flooded with danger. But allies will aid you in this journey if you allow them. Keep Melody close, as she is very special and important to your new mission. As for the humans you know, Barry and Dawn, both will join you for awhile, and then you must choose one or the other to help you end this monstrous destruction.' I frowned at its voice, hating the vague tone it took.

"What does that mean?! Can't you tell me what you're getting at?! I refuse to let you beat around the bush with me!" I yelled, my fists balled up with rage.

'If you want information, I will give as much as I can. Team Galactic, or so they call themselves, are planning to trap the beings of Emotion, Willpower, and Knowledge. Then, they will fashion a chain to summon the beasts of time and space, to summon a third beast, one who Cyrus will use to lead the world to its end. However, it will not be remade how he wants it. It will be made as the shadow beast pleases. A prophecy has arisen, saying the savior will be an unlikely hero, coming from a small town and dark hair.'

"What does this have to do with me? Sandgem is hardly small."

'But you are unlikely, as you work with Galactic. Let me continue. This hero is destined to open their heart of darkness, because of a Pokemon blessed by Arceus, and a human who doesn't fit in, because they will be the key to the hero fixing everything. I will recite a passage.'

'He, with a heart that knows no kindness or love, will go to join the group of destruction. They will aid the end of the world, until meeting a human and Pokemon. The Pokemon will open their heart to compassion, and erase the chains from the hero's heart, and the human will allow them to heal the world. If the hero refuses the healing gifted to them by the human and Pokemon, the world is doomed to fall, and evil to steal the lands. If he chooses to aid the side of Good, the Pokemon will fight against the ancient beast, and the human will risk everything for the Hero's safety. The world will be saved once the Hero leaves the realm of the evil beast, alone, with a mark to signify their success.'

I stood there, in shock and still processing what Darkrai said. That hero sounded like me, and the Pokemon was certainly Melody. As for the human… I had no idea who that could possibly mean. What I didn't like was the implication at the end.

"So I go to this world with Melody and that human… And only I leave? By myself?"

'Heroes always have the saddest of endings. I must go now. The beast is drawing towards you. Wake up, and get the 7th badge. Everything else will fall into place. Do not lose your way or your allies. All is lost if you do.' With that everything faded away, and my head started hurting, and I felt needles going through my skull and into my brain. A raspy voice rang through.

YOU KNOW YOUR FATE. WILL YOU STILL FIGHT THE WAY OF THE SUPPOSED "RIGHT"? YOU HEARD THAT YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE. IF YOU GIVE UP NOW AND REMAIN LOYAL TO GALACTIC, I ASSURE THEIR SAFETY. REFUSE, AND I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU BEFORE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.

I was screaming in pain, on the grass, rolling around. The pain was getting worse and I hated it. Everything went black and I sat up in a cold sweat. I was at the Pokemon Center. I looked to my right and saw Barry on the ground, looking at me with concern.

"Lucas?! Are you okay?!" He ran to my bedside and the look in his eyes shocked me. It was so filled with concern, it made me think of that dumb prophecy. To think I was in a freaking prophecy and the world hung on my shoulders. When did this all start? I was just doing my own thing, stealing information and fooling everyone. When did that life go away? Probably when Dawn and more importantly, Barry walked in, trying to run in that stupid grass. I was fine doing my previous life. If they never came across my path, I would've never met Melody. I then realized that I'm staring at Barry, and it's slowly getting awkward.

"I'm… Alright. Just a nightmare. Probably your Happiny's fault, or a ghost type Pokemon." I muttered, standing up and grabbing a set of clothes, getting dressed quickly. Barry turned around, as if to be courteous, which was not necessary. I grabbed all my things and started to leave before I heard Barry shout something, grabbing his stuff and running to join me.

"Don't leave without me! I'm sticking around until at least the next town since I still kinda owe you and all. Not to mention to make sure you're really okay. Passing out and getting all these nightmares, and all." He gave a sheepish grinning, scratching the back of his head. I took a moment to think. Having him around would mean that I would have issues doing my job, but then again, I am this supposed Hero, so should I keep working for them anyways? But having him around could be useful since he focuses on battling and training more than I do. Having some muscle could work in my favor. Maybe I can even manipulate him to help me with Galactic, or should he help me dig for information on this prophecy? The overthinking was starting to give me another headache.

"Fine. But don't get in my way." I kept the cold mask I had for him on and kept walking, saying goodbye to the nurse and leaving the center. We were still in Solaceon Town, which means next should be Veilstone, for the badge, or even Pastoria. Both could be reached with roughly the same amount of time. Barry reached forward and grabbed my arm, forcing me to turn to him with an annoyed look.

"Why are you like that? You act like such a jerk all the time, but then a while ago you said it was because you liked me. Why? Why can't you just get rid of the mask? I wanna talk to you, not whatever mask you have on at whatever given time." The look he had on his face convinced me that he wasn't looking to let this conversation go like he did last time. Which was a nuisance because now I have to concoct a new set of lies to deal with the first set that lead me into this mess. Why did Rowan have to stop these kids and not let them be tackled by the wild Pokemon? It would have made my life so much easier. But no, he had to have a good heart and prevent the stupid kids from learning a life lesson the hard way. I took another second to think, postponing my answer. It was my mask that made him like this. So maybe another could get me out of this. I took a deep breath and allowed myself to steep as low as possible.

"Your right Barry. I do tend to mask my feelings. And I guess I didn't realize how much this was truly affecting you. So I'll make you a promise. I'll do my best to be truthful to you as much as I can." I gave him what I thought to be my nicest smile, and he returned it tenfold. Arceus this kid was easy to fool. At this point, whatever made my life the easiest.

Rose: I'll be ending it here since I need to post something sooner or later, and I had this sitting here for a month, barely not finished. I'll be doing a bit of writing for the next few hours since I'm waiting for a plane, and then I have a 6-hour flight, in which I'll be offline and writing up new chapters for my fics. Have a Happy Holidays everyone!